Part of my experience in high school chorus included singing “Fill the World With Love” by Leslie Bricusse in a musical based on the movie “Good Bye Mr. Chips”.  The song has remained a recurring theme in my mind over the years, and the final stanza seems to have increasing personal relevance. It is a wonderfully endearing song with a timeless message.

In the evening of my life I shall look to the sunset,
At a moment in my life when the night is due.
And the question I shall ask only I can answer.
Was I brave and strong and true?
Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?

This sixth Sunday of the Easter season we are reminded of how the resurrection of Christ impacted the early church.  Christ brought a radically different idea of how people are to relate to one another and to God into the world.  The death and resurrection of Christ started a revolution of thought and purpose that continues until today. 

Our lesson from Acts tells the story of the Apostle Paul preaching the Gospel in Athens.  He used the rhetorical method commonly accepted by the religious philosophers of the Pantheon. He described the Creator of the universe as the “unknown god”.  The Greeks didn’t want to take any chances that they had missed building a temple to a significant god so they included one that was unknown. 

Paul concluded that god had raised Jesus from death. The argument he used to encourage belief was the resurrection.  Paul later complained that this was his most disappointing missionary trip.  He could not convert one single Athenian based on the logical discourse he presented.  Although he was successful at converting large numbers elsewhere, no one accepted the call to believe at the Acropolis.

Our reading from First Peter was written much later in history than Paul’s discourse in Athens.  It could have been as much as several decades later that the letter was penned from Rome to the Christians who were suffering persecution.  The theology of First Peter is one of survival.  Sometime between Paul’s preaching in Athens and the writing of our epistle it had become illegal to be a Christian.  Christianity was viewed as a threat to the values of the day and a danger to the very fabric of society itself. 

Our lesson reminds us that it is possible to suffer for doing good.  In spite of behaving the best we can, and with every right intention, there will always be powerful people who want to persecute those who are different.  Christians behaved differently than most people in the empire.  They had strange customs and were thought of as bizarre because they only believed in one God.   

The writer of Peter took the position that Christians should take a very practical approach in order to survive.  They were to live good lives, be kind and practice good behavior so that others would have less of a reason to accuse them.  In an atmosphere of persecution, it would likely be easier to find allies and safety among people they had a history of getting along with.  This is a very practical application of Jesus teaching “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”   At the same time the epistle encouraged believers to not be afraid of explaining their faith if someone asks. 

The actions of believers would set them apart, not simply as being different, but in a way that would make people want to know why they acted the way they did.  If someone asked; why are you feeding the hungry, defending the weak, standing for justice and equality, visiting those in prison, visiting the sick or giving clothes to the poor, believers could explain their faith.  Christians do those things because when we do, it is as if we are doing it unto Jesus himself.  True believers see Christ in those who are in need.

Our Gospel lesson was probably written during a time of persecution as well.  The writer of John recited the story of Jesus preparing his disciples for his death.  John fourteen is known as the farewell discourse.  Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”  Demanding obedience is usually not considered a sign of love, but of exactly the opposite.  In order to see how we can show our love for Jesus by obeying his commands, we have to know what Jesus actually commanded.

Religious leaders have placed a great deal of rules and regulations on their followers.  In all of the passages of John where Jesus makes a command it is “that you love one another.”  The first epistle of John also tells us that Christ commands us to love one another.  Matthew tells us that Jesus summarized all of the laws of God into two things: that we love God, and that we love our neighbor.  Jesus never commands anyone to do anything other than to love. 

If we live our lives motivated by love for others, we do not have to concern ourselves with breaking some religious rule or tradition.  Some people are so worried about breaking a commandment, that they forget that the only commandment that means anything is to love.   Paul told the Galatians, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”  We do not have a list of rules and taboos required to be a believer.  We do however; have the continuing debt to love one another.

Paul tried to convince the Greeks in Athens to follow Christ based on religious logic and philosophy.  He failed to convince them.  He failed because Christianity is not about being religious.  Philosophy, theology and religious rules do not matter.  The epistle of Peter explained very practical applications of love.   Christianity is about right relationship.  Christ has already given us right relationship with God.  Our obligation is to live in right relationship with one another through love. 

Having the right confession doesn’t matter.  Going to the right church or believing the right doctrine is not important.  Like Paul, we can be right and still fail. We must always remember to love.  We don’t have to convince the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, or Jewish believer to think like we think, but we must love them no matter what.  I’m reminded of that song again, “And the question I shall ask only I can answer.  Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?”

Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

Jesus said, “In my father’s house there are many rooms.”  Having grown up in a fairly large household, I have an understanding of the need to have personal space.  There were five boys, two girls, and two parents in my family and for years we lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Chicago.  My parents had one room.  The two girls shared a room, and the boys all slept in a room that was supposed to be a living room.  Privacy was something that was difficult to find.  Somehow, we even managed to get by with only one bathroom.

Jesus said, “In my father’s house there are many rooms.”  There are a lot of different kinds of households and families.  There are those who live alone, couples with children, individuals with children, opposite sex couples without children, same sex couples with children, same sex couples without children, group homes, and those who live in various other kinds of households, either by choice or necessity.  Sometimes there are even children raising children.

One of the most challenging problems we face is when we have been rejected and no longer find that we fit in our household.  In a Presidential primary debate last spring, candidate John Edwards mentioned the thousands of homeless young people living on the street because they have been kicked out of their homes for being gay or lesbian.  He suggested that something must be done to legally require parents to keep their gay children.  While there is a great deal of truth to this idea, it also presents the challenge that some children are in a better place outside of their biological family.

No one should be forced to stay in a household where someone is abusive toward others.  Adolescents frequently find themselves in a mental health or substance abuse treatment setting because they can no longer survive in their given homes.  One of the first questions that must be asked in any out-of-home placement is whether the home is a safe place to go back to.  In many instances, an alternative family needs to be found in order to allow for the growth, stability and nurture of our young.

Jesus said. “In my father’s house there are many rooms.”  Our epistle reading from First Peter for this fifth Sunday of the Easter season reminds us that Jesus knows what it is likes to be rejected by one’s biological people.  He was despised and rejected by the culture and community that would have naturally been the environment of nurture and support.  He was rejected so powerfully that he was crucified.  People today are still despised, rejected, and even murdered because they are different. 

Jesus said, “In my father’s house there are many rooms.”  Our Gospel lesson is the record of Jesus preparing his disciples for his death.  He told them not to worry.  He said that he was going to prepare a place for them.  The death and resurrection of Jesus allows the people of the world to have a place in God’s house.  I can’t remember the number of times I have heard this passage of Scripture used to describe life after death.  Often, we think of this passage as referring to an eternity of bliss with God.  Somehow, I think Jesus had more in mind.

Jesus said that the dominion of God is within us.  He spoke of God’s domain both in the future tense and in the present tense.  Heaven isn’t only something we get as a reward after we die.  Heaven includes belonging to the dominion of God here and now.  Some people confuse the dominion of God with an institution, usually their own particular denomination.  It is not an institution, but a spiritual union of believers across multiple religions, cultures and ways of life. 

Narrow minded human beings think that God’s house is only filled with people just like themselves.  Not long ago, I received an email from the man who served as Pastor of the church I attended as a teenager.  I had contacted him to check on his wife who had been sick.  Rather than share how she was doing, he decided to reply by commanding me to repent.  He told me that my partner and I are on a rocket ship straight to hell.  I can only imagine the rage that had built up inside this man in order for him to damn my soul, and the soul of a very loving man that he doesn’t even know.

Jesus said, “In my father’s house there are many rooms.”  God’s house is filled with every kind of person, every kind of household and every kind of love.  Although human beings may despise and reject others, God does not.  God’s unconditional love is opened to each of us, and there is plenty of room in God’s house.  We belong to God, not other humans.  We are judged by God, not other humans.  Christ has judged us already, and he has found us worthy enough to prepare us a room in God’s house.  Every room is not alike.  Each one is different.  Created in God’s image, we may be rejected by others, but God always has room for everyone. 

As Peter wrote in today’s epistle reading, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.   We belong in God’s house because God’s mercy endures for ever and ever.  God’s love has no strings attached.  We can always get comfortable and feel right at home in God’s house.  Jesus said, “In my father’s house there are many rooms.” 

Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

It is often difficult not to worry about the future.  Television, print and electronic media give us up-to-the-minute updates on the affairs of the world.  These reports often focus on sensationalism and dramatic possibilities of danger.  The ability to have material wealth may be shifting.

Over the past months world financial markets have been up and down like a roller-coaster ride.  The devaluing of the dollar and the cost of war have caused basic commodities and fuel prices to skyrocket.  This means that some have to choose between buying a gallon of milk or a gallon of gasoline to get to work.  People are losing their homes because banks are foreclosing on those unable to keep up with rising mortgage rates.

The gap between rich people and poor people in America is widening.  The average income for the top five percent of families in the U.S. is twelve times the bottom 20% according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  Meanwhile those in the middle have had incomes rise only 1.9% since the 1990s, not nearly enough to keep up with inflation.  Forecasters give little hope of a quick-fix to the recession-like economy we are now facing.

Yet, this is the fourth Sunday of the Easter season.  Christ is risen from the grave.  The natural cycles of life continue and the earth is warming from a cold winter and new life is springing forth in nature all around us.  We can look forward with great optimism to the months of warmth and growth to come in summer.

The economy of first century Palestine was agricultural and pastoral.  Shepherds would herd their flocks in from the fields and keep them in a pen that was usually shared by the entire community.  The sheep would be kept safe in the sheep-fold until time for them to be taken to the field again for pasture.  Then, each shepherd would come and gather his own sheep and take them back out to the field, shear them for wool, or use them for food. 

Jesus used a double metaphor from this practice to describe himself.  First, he shared that he is the good shepherd. Second, he compared himself to the gate of the sheep-fold.  In both metaphors, we are the sheep.  I’m not sure I like the idea of being considered a sheep, but it certainly works in this metaphor.

The epistle reading reminds us that Jesus is the good shepherd.  He is the guardian of our souls.  The good shepherd cares for his sheep.  The good shepherd protects the sheep from the dangers of bad weather, predatory animals, and other human beings who would attempt to steal them away.  The good shepherd has built a strong relationship and bond with the sheep to the point that they recognize his voice and know not to follow another.  It would not be unusual for the shepherd to sing to the sheep at night or when a storm is approaching and they are agitated.

We are those who listen for the voice of the shepherd and are careful to follow the right voice.  Colossians 2:8, reminds us, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,^* and not according to Christ.”  Christ tells us that the sheep “go in and out and find pasture.”  We listen for the voice of the spirit, and we are promised that we will find pasture.  Finding pasture causes me to think of being satisfied.  Finding our own sense of where we belong and being self actualized and fulfilled in our lives, regardless of where the shepherd may lead us.

While we have to be good stewards of our resources and be able to plan for the future, it is easy to listen to the wrong voice.  We can choose to listen to the inner voice that makes us place our priorities on personal gain and wealth.  We can give in to the human philosophy of materialism that seems to saturate modern life.  On the other hand, there often seems to be a voice down deep inside that calls for simplicity of life. 

I believe that is the voice of the good shepherd. It is a voice of finding happiness, not in external tangible things, but in the intangible realities that make life so enjoyable.  When I think of those I have loved the most in my life, I don’t think of what material things they have given me, instead I think of the time spent talking, comforting, laughing, and playing.

Our gospel lesson didn’t stop at Christ being the good shepherd.  Christ used a second metaphor to describe himself.  He said that he is the gate for the sheep.  We are promised eternal life because of Christ.  Christ is the entrance and source of living a complete human life.  The life Christ is talking about in these metaphors is life in this world.  It is translated most often as abundant life, or life at its fullest. 

Christ is our entrance into a full and abundant life, not with regard to material things that pass away, but life that is full of joy and satisfaction.  This kind of life accepts ourselves and others just like we are.  It is a life of personal humility that respects others and honors the dignity of humanity.  The abundant life Christ promises is one that is able to find awe, wonder, and appreciation in what others might consider to be menial things. 

“My sheep know my voice, and another they will not follow.”   May we follow Christ into genuine abundant life as the people God has created us to be!  Let us find joy that transcends the material things around us.  Help us to remember the simple voice of Jesus rather than emphasizing those who try to lead us into despair regarding temporary things. 

Acts 2:42-47
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
Psalm 23

Not long ago a friend told me that he no longer attended church.  When I asked why, he said that the church had abandoned him.  Many people walk away from the church.  For some it is just a temporary move without long-lasting effect.  However, others have vowed never to walk through the doors of a church again.

It should be surprising that people would leave an institution that, by its nature, is designed to be nurturing and supportive.  However, it isn’t a surprise because the church often fails to be true to her call.  There are probably millions of stories of how the church has offended, abused, and harassed her members.  It is an institution of human beings with all the passions, both favorable and unfavorable, that are a part of human nature.

I can’t count the number of gays and lesbians that have told me that they cannot attend church anymore because it is too painful.  They have been mistreated, called names, threatened with public humiliation, or worse.  It is understandable that one would walk away from a group that inflicts harm on our selves or those we love.  While our epistle reading today from First Peter explains that Christians are to have “genuine mutual love,” and that we must, “love each other deeply from the heart,” it can rarely be said that the church has treated homosexuals with love and compassion in modern times.

The gospel lesson for this third Sunday of Easter is one where two believers walked away from the church.  They were beaten down and disappointed.  While many Christians locked themselves inside after the crucifixion of Jesus, two of them became so sad that they walked away and were traveling toward Emmaus, a town about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They had placed their hopes for the future in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  They believed he was the messiah come to rescue them from oppression.  Yet, Jesus was brutally tortured and killed.  Their hopes and dreams were killed with him, so they walked away.

While walking toward Emmaus, the risen Jesus came up alongside them and talked with them.  They shared their disappointment; how they thought Jesus would redeem Israel but he was crucified instead, not knowing it was Jesus they were talking to.  Jesus taught them from the ancient prophets and explained that it was necessary for the messiah to suffer and die.  They asked Christ to stay the night with them.  When they sat down for a meal and Jesus prayed over the bread, they recognized him.  They were so excited they went back to Jerusalem to tell the remainder of the believers that Jesus was indeed alive.  He had risen from the dead.

No one should remain a part of an organization that is harmful in any way.  I understand the desire not to support the very institution that persecutes us.  By doing so, we actually express our self-hatred and continue the cycle of abuse. 

Yet, there is an argument for staying involved so that we can change the institution from the inside.  This may make sense for those churches that allow for dissent and make decisions in a democratic way, but is not convincing when it is a hierarchical denomination that makes decisions from the top down.  In that case, it is time to walk away and find a supportive environment.

There are those however who refuse to be involved in church at all.  These folks have become so disappointed in the church that they can no longer find hope in her message. Some become agnostic and simply live their lives with little spiritual involvement.  Others have turned to other religions that they believe to be more accepting.  Still others decide that God does not exist and take a completely secular view of life.  Of course there will be many who will be somewhere between all of these ideas.

Those of us who have been abused by the church can certainly understand how one can walk away.  Yet, even when we walk away, the risen Christ remains with us.  Just like the believers who walked to Emmaus, the risen Christ travels through life with us and is patiently waiting for us to want to commune with God again.  God will not give up on us.  The Spirit will bring her gifts to us and gently nudge us in the right direction waiting for us to see Christ.

Although the majority of the church continues to persecute and abuse homosexuals, there are many local parishes and some denominations that are affirming of gays and lesbians.  There are some churches, although they are hard to find, that allow homosexuals to have equal and full participation in the life of the body of Christ.  There are some communions that think they are open and affirming that haven’t quite made it yet, but perhaps they will be able to become totally inclusive in the near future.

I believe there is value in being a part of an affirming and inclusive church.  It is through the church that we experience the mystery of God’s love and sacraments.  It is through the church that we are reminded of God’s grace and mercy for all.  In our reading from Acts, Peter shared in his sermon on the day of Pentecost that all those baptized into the body of Christ are promised the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is a valuable gift that we should continue to claim as our own regardless of what human institutions do.

If you are one who has walked away, the risen Christ remains with you.  If you don’t have a truly inclusive congregation near you, perhaps you can start a fellowship group to reach out to other sexual minorities with the good news that everyone is included in God’s plan.  Feel free to contact us if you sense the Holy Spirit directing you to begin a new ministry.  If you are one who has an affirming congregation, be thankful that you have found a place that others long for. 

Our lives are often much like those two believers walking down the road to Jerusalem.  The risen Jesus walks with us as we celebrate life and love together, but we often pay no attention to God’s presence.  Just as he was recognized in the blessing of the bread, we can recognize Christ in the way the Spirit comforts and nurtures us.  The hope of resurrection lives because the risen Christ remains with us.  Even if we become discouraged and walk away, Christ never walks away from us.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Acts 2:14a,36-41
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35

I have a very clear memory of April 4, 1968.  I was only twelve years old, but I had an interest in current events at a very young age.  I knew of Martin Luther King Jr.  I had written a sixth grade paper on his “I had a Dream” speech.  I lived in a poor, racially mixed, neighborhood of Chicago, and was very aware every time Dr King came to town.  My parents feared him, but I knew well enough that he stood for equality and justice.

That warm April evening I had finished my homework and was watching television when a news bulletin broke in.  The bulletin said that Dr. King had been shot in his hotel room in Memphis.  The cameras recorded the aftermath of the shooting, and I was moved by the tears of a bulky football player crying over the civil rights leader’s death. 

Dr King took up the challenge of calling our nation to repentance.  Now, we recognize him as a prophet who led people from bondage.  The Episcopal Church, and other denominations recognize April 4^th as the day to remember this man of God and has added prayers and Scripture readings to the lectionary in order to memorialize him as a prophet.

The Old Testament lesson is from Exodus.   It is the story of how God saw the Israelites suffering the slavery of Egypt.  God chose Moses to stand up to Pharaoh and demand freedom for the slaves.  Through Moses, God miraculously led the people to freedom.

The story of deliverance from slavery is one that resonates powerfully with the African-American community.  Those who were the descendents of slaves have heard the stories of their forebears secretly meeting at night, and reading of how God delivered the slaves from Egypt.  They prayed and sang of deliverance from slavery in America.  It has become a part of the psyche of the community.

As a leader in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, Dr. King witnessed the continued inequality between the races.  Segregation was the rule of the day.  Those in power believed the monstrous idea that minorities can be “separate, but equal.” In reality, being separate means being unequal.  Recognizing this truth Dr. King became a leader of a non-violent resistance to oppression and demanded justice for his people through civil disobedience.

Today, the battle for equality continues.  Laws alone cannot change attitudes and hearts.  Fear creates prejudice.  Many people continue to manipulate the fears of others in order to control what people think and do.  The battle to retain power is often fought at the expense of one minority group or another.  Yet, the ideal of freedom and equality for everyone remains the hope and dream of all of God’s people.

We continue to struggle to find freedom from the fear that causes prejudice.  Minorities come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and speak many different languages.  Anyone who is outside mainstream society in any way is often feared, and therefore persecuted and oppressed.  This oppression can take very subtle forms, or can be more overt in the form of violence.

Some Christians have been manipulated to fear homosexuals.  Sexual minorities have been demonized as the source of great evil in the world, even when there is no logical connection.  For example, some television preachers claimed that the attack on the world trade center in New York was the fault of homosexuals.  It is absurd to connect a group of people’s sexuality with a terrorist attack.  Many homosexuals were killed in the attack.  The people who are at fault are the ones who commit the act of terrorism and those who helped them. 

Similarly, the last United States presidential election cycle was filled with rhetoric attacking gays and lesbians.  Multiple states had initiatives on the ballot to make it illegal for two people of the same sex to get married.  What the activists claimed was that if you allow two people of the same sex to get married, it will somehow harm people of the opposite sex who get married.  Yet, there is no logical connection.  The reason this was an issue was not because it was truly a problem, but because the party in power wanted to stay in power and this was a way of motivating their electoral base to come to the polls.

The institution of marriage is strengthened by the number of people who get married and stay together.  The greatest way to save the institution of marriage is to allow people to choose to marry the one they love regardless of their gender. 

I will admit that many of the benefits of marriage can be obtained by other legal means in some states.  However, separate is not equal.  It is a form of oppression to say to anyone that they cannot marry the one they love.  They have become second class citizens and are not given equal protection under the law.  Some states do not allow any of the benefits normally associated with marriage to be granted to a same-sex couple.

Marriage isn’t the only form of prejudice against homosexuals.  Young people are teased and harassed in our schools every day and called obscene names because they are perceived to be gay.  They cannot learn because they are afraid.  Many others have lost their jobs, been denied due process, been beaten and even killed because of their sexual orientation.  Fear, prejudice, discrimination and violence are just as real today as ever.

We need modern prophets to call for an end to prejudice and discrimination in any form.  Like Dr. King, I too dream of a day when no one will think twice about the gender another person is attracted to; a day when someone will not be thought of as strange if they love someone of the same sex.  When it will not matter whether one is gay or straight, black or white, or where one is on any of the other social and economic measures that are used as a means of division.   I hope for the day when we shall all be able to sing, “Thank God almighty, I’m free at last.” 

Exodus 3:7-12
Luke 6:27-36
Psalm 77:11-20 or
Psalm 98:1-4